Miles is quite the attraction here in Houston. Strangers are always telling us how cute he is.
"He looks like he was carved out of a block of cream cheese."
"He's cuter than the Gerber baby. You should put him in modeling."
"I could eat those thighs for dinner!"
"He looks like a Viking. A Viking baby with those blue eyes and blonde
hair."
"He'll be the only kid in gym class with that name." (I didn't think Miles was that unusual.)
And they're are amazed at how big he is for 6 months. 20 lbs, I'd guess. I just say, "Wait 'till you see his thighs!"

A Tour of Houston

Schlumberger sent Alvin to Houston for a 6-week class on oil resevoir characterization, so Miles and I tagged along. To Houston, not the class. The worst part is the heat\humidity combination, but the best part is the hotel housekeeping: we never have to make our bed or wash our towels. While Alvin goes to class everyday, Miles and I hang out at the air-conditioned hotel or explore Houston by bus, foot, Mei Tai, and stroller (and taxi when it's 10:30 pm and your 9:30 bus still hasn't come). So far we have made it to . . .

• Rice University
• Children's Museum
• Memorial Park
• Houston Arboretum and Nature Center
• The Galleria
• Downtown Aquarium
• Public Library
• Museum of Fine Art
• Rice Village (my favorite store)
• Brazos Bend State Park
• some great restaurants

Don't worry. Alvin hasn't missed out on all the fun. He joins us on excursions in the evenings and on weekends when he doesn't have to prepare group presentations.

4th of July

Alvin the photographer was in heaven at the Provo Balloon Fest. He even forgave me for getting him up at 5:45 am on a holiday. Watching the balloons inflate was "udderly" amazing. My new life goal is to ride in a hot air balloon.

3rd of July

We drove to the Uintas to escape the heat of the valley and hike Ruth Lake and Christmas Meadows.
We have learned from experience that a baby's cry is calculated to get parents to RESPOND, even with a temporary comfort, like a pacifier. Unfortunately, Miles has an uncanny knack for losing pacifiers when we are hiking. Here, Alvin has resorted to drastic measures to distract our baby.

Relaxing by the Provo River Falls. There are actually 3 falls, all beautiful.

This is a glacial meadow on the way to Ruth Lake.

Bradley Reunion

During the three months before Miles was born, Alvin and I took a Bradley class to prepare for a natural childbirth. There were 8 couples in our class, and we've all had our babies now. We got together on June 27 to share birth stories and see the little squirts that made their mommies' tummies so big. Our instructor came to the reunion and, ironically, she is 8 months pregnant.

Look closely at the following sequence and you'll see the birth of a thief!

Reunion Time

The last two weeks we've gone to family reunions. First, Alvin's family met in St. George, then my family met in Fairview.

Zion isn't too far from St. George, so we spent a day there. My favorite hike was Angel's Landing. I've always wanted to do it. Now I can die. Well, I better add some more things to my list of lifetime goals. That's Alvin's dad and brother Chris in the picture.


Can you guess what play Alvin's nieces and nephews performed for us? Hint: "I'm late! I'm late! I'm late for a very important date!"

These are my cousins. Since he's a native to Fairview, Alvin took us on a tour of Skyline Drive and found a nice place to hike.

We stopped at a toy shop and saw this sage quote.

This is at the Fairview Cemetery. Alvin's brother, John Mark, and Miles share the same birthday.

Anniversary

June 2, 2009 we celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Alvin, they've been the best two years of my life.

We went back to Maple Canyon, where Alvin popped the question in March 2007. The conglomerate cliffs make for some great rock climbing. We, however, just hiked and got showered by a spring cloudburst.

I've never seen a conglomerate arch before. Miles likes it, too.

No sunburns today! Isn't this a cool trail?